Contemporary China: 1949 to the Present

With a population of nearly 1.5 billion and the world’s second largest economy, China is a major player in the world today, and yet many in the West know very little about contemporary China. This book provides a clear, authoritative and up-to-date history of China since 1949, drawing on extensive research to describe and explain the key developments and to dispel the many myths and misconceptions surrounding this twenty-first-century superpower. In contrast to many commentators who overstate the novelty of the Communist regime, Guiheux emphasizes instead its complex political heritage, highlighting the many continuities it shares with the reformers and revolutionaries of the early twentieth century. At the same time, the ability of China’s authoritarian regime to transform the economy and society is key to understanding its breakneck trajectory of modernization – an ability that, as Guiheux explains, far outweighed the importance and effectiveness of Mao’s utopian vision. Guiheux also aims to ‘de-exoticize’ China. While not on the path of a Western-style modernity, China has experienced the same phenomena that have characterized every historical process of modernization: industrialization, urbanization, bureaucratization and globalization. This expertly researched history of the People’s Republic of China will be essential reading for all students and scholars of Chinese history and politics, and for anyone interested in contemporary China.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter One. The establishment of a new regime (1949-1957) Building a new state The achievement of unity  The administration of the territories The strategy of the New Democracy (1949-1953) The New Institutions (1954) Society is brought into line The marriage law (May 1950) Agrarian reform The campaign for the repression of counter-revolutionaries (February 1951) The Three-anti Campaign (December 1951) and the Five-anti Campaign (April 1952) against the bourgeoisie Bringing intellectuals to heel Forging links with the socialist camp The Sino-Soviet alliance The Korean War An orthodox economic policy The Eighth Party Congress (1956) Conclusion Chapter Two. Maoism and its excesses (1958-1976) The origins of the Great Leap Forward The successive stages of the Great Leap Forward The Great Famine (1959-1961) Natural causes Human errors Political responsibilities Pragmatism and political divisions (1960-1965) Mao’s adjustment program and political withdrawal The Socialist Education Movement (1962-1965) The Maoization of the People’s Liberation Army and preparation for war The Cultural Revolution (1966-1969) The beginnings (October 1965-July 1966) The mobilization of the Red Guards (August 1966-January 1967) Militarization in the face of revolutionary seizures of power (January to      August 1967) The return to order (1967-1969): bringing the Red Guards to heel and the      Ninth Congress Responsibilities and consequences The end of Maoism and the crises of succession (1969-1976) The Lin Biao era (1969-1971) The elimination of Lin Biao in September 1971 The end of Maoism (1972-1976)  Conclusion Chapter Three. Giving priority to economic modernization (1976-1992) The Hua Guofeng transition (September 1976-December 1978) The struggle between two tendencies: neo-Maoists against pragmatists A veteran to embody renewal The first reforms (1979-1986) Deng Xiaoping comes to power The rehabilitation of the law The acceleration of reforms (1984-1986) The failure of Zhao Ziyang and the crisis of the regime (1986-1989) The aborted political reform The reimposition of dictatorship Conclusion Chapter Four. Building a new model (since 1992) The Jiang Zemin decade: authoritarian, conservative and pragmatic leadership (1989-2002) An engineer in power The rise of nationalism Jiang Zemin’s consolidation of power Jiang Zemin’s initiatives The Hu Jintao - Wen Jiabao Era (2002-2012): a lost decade? Populist leaders Crises in Tibet and Sichuan in 2008 Two ‘campaigns of mass distraction’ The fifth generation of leaders in power (since 2012) The change of political personnel Xi Jinping, a ‘prince’ in power Internal authoritarianism Expansionism abroad Conclusion Chapter Five. Forms of government: from arbitrary rule to the aborted attempt at institutionalization The Communist Party: organization, ideology, adaptation Party organization Party members Ideology Five generations of leaders The state apparatus: a democratic façade Executive power The elected assemblies A ‘state of laws without rule of law’ The army in the political system The Party-State and society: control, participation, resistance A triple system of repression, confinement and surveillance Social coalitions supporting the regime Opponents without opposition Public space and civil society Conclusion Chapter Six. The creation of wealth: from planned economy to the market The socialist cycle The place of inheritance The socialist planned economy The Great Leap Forward (1958-1960) Assessment of the Maoist period The reform cycle The decollectivization of the countryside Business reform 1984-1988: take-off 1989-1993, the end of the reforms The move towards a market economy (1993-2003) The Hu Jintao-Wen Jiabao administration: a new activism The economic policy of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang An assessment of the structural transformations The Chinese market economy The diversification of economic actors The transformation of the economic role of the state Restructuring the administration of the economy The weaknesses of the state The internationalization of the economy China and international trade Conclusion   Chapter Seven. Society on the move: mobility and inequality Maoist China: From movement to immobilization (1949-1978) The establishment of the hukou system Labelling of the population A nomenklatura: a privileged caste Political mobility Society on the move again (since 1979) The winners The old working class and the new urban poverty The new working class: migrant workers The debate about inequality A diverse social space A political project: the construction of the middle classes The hypothesis of the social divide Latin Americanization as a possible scenario Measuring inequalities Conclusion Chapter Eight. The towns versus the countryside The broken promises of the peasant revolution Maoism sacrifices the peasants Building a working class The non-development of cities The urban miracle: urbanization without revolution Urban growth: a political choice Improving housing conditions New urban governance New rural issues The ‘three nong’ Collective action in the countryside New rural policies Conclusion Chapter Nine. Populations: the modernization of society Counting the population, controlling the demographics The demographic transition The pragmatism of Maoist population policies The one-child policy The harmful consequences of the one-child policy Protecting the population: social policies The Maoist period: protection for those who work The state’s withdrawal after 1978 The reconstruction of a welfare system The private and intimate sphere The family Forms of sexuality: a liberation? Homosexuality is now tolerated Persistent gender inequalities The individualization of society The choice of spouse: a freely chosen alliance between two families Self-interest The reconfiguration of the religious scene Conclusion Chapter Ten. Education and culture Education and science Education (1949-1976): priority given to the early years The massification, marketization and internationalization of higher education since 1979 Persistent problems: selectivity, inequality The professionalization and internationalization of scientific activity since 1979 Culture and creation Culture at the service of the political project (1949-1979) A decade of experiments (1979-1989) Culture opens up to the market Cultural policies: the case of museums Conclusion Epilogue Map Title-holders of the main positions in the government of the People’s Republic of China (1949-2018) Chronology Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Gilles Guiheux is a historian and sociologist at Université Paris Cité.

Review :
‘A comprehensive and well-balanced account of today’s China and how it evolved, from the political system to culture, from history to twenty-first-century society, set in the context of the long-term national development of the country whose evolution will affect the whole world.’ Jonathan Fenby, author of The Penguin History of Modern China ‘Moving beyond tired frames that stress China’s uniqueness and incommensurability, Guiheux skilfully situates the history of the PRC in broadly comparative terms. Particularly effective is the balance struck between a chronological account and the thematically specific analyses of politics, society, culture and economy. A wonderful achievement of synthesis and insight with much to offer to both specialist and lay reader alike.’ Arunabh Ghosh, Harvard University ‘To many, China is a complicated, threatening and opaque nation. Gilles Guiheux aims to “‘de-exoticize’ China and analyse its transformations in the light of other human societies”, and he succeeds. By the book’s final page, the mysterious and alien become transparent and familiar, serving the reader well as the West strategizes a constructive path forward with the most populous superpower.’ Chris Fenton, Former President of DMG Entertainment Motion Picture Group (China)